If you ever wanted to know how to properly do a 2d character turn, my friend max and I made a video showing you how to use the photoshop timeline to create a rotation of your characters. this can be applied to almost any type of character design. you can watch the full video here on our youtube page.
https://youtu.be/yvUkaBhwAFY
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Hello there!
Yes, we haven’t done this in a while… but our inbox and chat are swamped with questions on the subject, so this article was very much needed.
it’s a simple list of art apps, but we know you love those :D
Enough with the intro, here it is, a list of twelve art apps you may want to check out.
ArtRage is an art program for beginners and professionals. With its minimal interface, it’s easy to keep the essential tools at hand without stealing space from the canvas. Panels can be moved around and tools can be customised. We all know how important it is for digital artists to be able to modify brushes!
Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; essential tools from professional apps available; available for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac
Cons: it may get sluggish with big files and when using big brushes, but performances also depend on the running machine; limited selection of editing tools if compared to Photoshop - ArtRage is more of a painting program rather than an editing one.
Paid
ArtRage Lite is a different version at a cheaper price, mostly for beginners, but also for professionals if they need the essential.
Now free, Sketchbook is the famous app created by Autodesk for various platforms.
Pros: clean, friendly interface; easy to use; professional features
Cons: lack of official tutorials; doesn’t offer as many tools as other apps (it’s down to the essential); paid subscription in Adobe style for multiple licenses
Free and paid
Black Ink is a powerful little program few actually know, but there’s a reason: this isn’t your classing drawing app. What’s cool about it is the vast selection of special brushes, completely non-realistic, and definitely able to boost your creativity.
Pros: vast selection of customisable brushes; excellent performance
Cons: not very easy to use; non-intuitive interface
Paid
This is probably the most complete software for painting, drawing and animation. It was originally known as Manga Studio, but with its updates and addition of features, it became Clip Studio Paint.
This doesn’t say much about the quality of the features themselves considering the affordable price (if you haven’t used the app yet, that is), but among graphic apps, this one is the top seller.
Pros: professional features for illustrators; layout tools for comic/manga artists; 3D reference models; customisable tools; various sales with special prices
Cons: the interface may not appear intuitive at first; the program may lag (again, performance also depends on the running machine)
Paid
GIMP is the famous open source image editor originally created for GNU/Linux and available for OS X and Windows.
Best known as Photoshop’s main competition, this is a manipulation program for both beginners and professionals who love design.
It offers many professional features, making the program a powerful tool.
Pros: professional editing tools; supports different formats; supported by different platforms; active community
Cons: in spite of the simple design, many options are hidden and it takes time to discover all the features; slow startup
Free
Krita is an open source painting app created by artists for artists.
Pros: easy to use; intuitive interface; great brush workflow; brush stabilizer; customisable brushes; general good performance; very enthusiastic, although small, community
Cons: it may be slow or even crash depending on the running computer and the app’s version; very few editing tools compared to Photoshop
Free
MediBang Paint is a free and light app for drawing and painting, perfect for manga and comic creation.
Pros: vast selection of brushes; cloud sharing; friendly, minimal interface (non-desktop app); also available for iPad, iPhone and Android
Cons: requires an account to use all features; non-intuitive interface (desktop version)
Free
Mischief is a sketching app with essential tools, useful for brainstorming and ideation.
Pros: infinite drawing canvas; friendly interface; easy to use; cheap pro version
Cons: few updates; offers only the essential (but that’s the point); no editing/adjustment tools
Free and paid
Corel’s jewel, Painter is the most famous software that offers digital tools able to give a traditional feel to brushes and canvas.
Pros: different selection of media; many professional features; PS-friendly
Cons: certain brushes may work slow; not easy to use at first; the software may crash (this is the most common report); pricey
Paid
Paintstorm Studio is a professional software for digital painting. It’s focused on the use of brushes and blending, which makes the software a little gem in the digital painting field.
Pros: good brush workflow; brush stabilizer; “close gap” feature; customisable interface and tools; professional features; affordable price
Cons: non-intuitive interface (desktop version)
Paid
Procreate is the powerful drawing app for iOS.
With the very sensitive Apple Pencil, Procreate is so easy to use that many artists chose the iPad over the most famous graphic tablets.
Pros: friendly interface; makes it easy to organise files; excellent brush workflow; customisable brushes; video recording; affordable price
Cons: hidden features; only available for iPad
Paid
SAI is a simple app for artists who want to focus on painting and drawing.
It’s well known for its good pressure support and its essential tools for manga artists, but SAI can be used by any kind of artist who wants to paint.
Pros: easy to use; friendly interface; light software; customisable brushes; tons of (non-official) tutorials
Cons: limited selection of tools, even basic ones; limited canvas sizes and uses; it might crash from intensive work, especially with big canvases and brushes; supports only RGB colour mode; lack of support
Paid
We hope you’ll find this list useful.
If you think there are other apps that should have made this list, don’t hesitate to let us know!
Thank you and peace out,
G&M
Buy us a coffee ❤
Other articles:
10 inspiring and helpful YouTube channels for digital artists
6 inspiring Art Podcasts for digital artists
7 amazing Photoshop extensions and tools for digital artists
i see no difference
I think it's really cool that in Disney's new show the protagonist is a dark-skinned pre-teen bi Latina who spends summer at hell, learns to be a witch, and then makes the school's most heralded and prestigious student fall in love with her through sheer tomfoolery
Anatomy:
Arms
Breasts
Body Types
Feet
Female
Hands
Heads -Ears -Expressions -Eyes -Facial -Hair -Mouths and Lips -Noses -Tears
Humans
Legs
Male
Muscles
Pelvis
Proportions
Shoulders
Torso
Animals:
Anatomy
Antlers
Beaks
Behaviour
Ears
Facial
Feathers
Fur
Hooves
Horns
Insects
Legs
Paws
Talons
Teeth
Wings
Backgrounds:
Cityscape
Indoors
Organic
Perspective
Quick BGs
Simplistic
Brushes:
Photoshop
Paint tool SAI
Design:
Buildings
Character Design
Clothing
Environments
Folds
Heights
Maps
Names
Sketching
Skin Tones
Drawing and Colouring:
Canvas Size
Colour Palettes
Colour Theory
Comics
Composition
Lighting
Lineart
Painting
Quick Tricks
Shading
Traditional
Fantasy:
Armor
Archery
Horns
Mythical Animals
Mythology
Power Ups
Weapons
Wings
For the Artist:
Copyright
File Types
Exercises
Portfolio
Reminders
Tablets
Tips and Advice
Tools
Languages:
ASL
Ancient
French
German
Grammar
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Morse
Spanish
Misc:
Animation
Commissions
Cosplay
Crafts
Life
Master Lists
Psychological
Resources
School
Writing
Nature:
Blood
Clouds
Fire
Flowers
Grass
Landscapes
Lightning
Metal
Plants
Rocks
Space
Trees
Water
Wood
Poses:
Angles
Animals
Draw Your X
Humans
Movement
Multiple Persons
Programs:
Clip Studio Paint
Krita
Paint Tool SAI
Photoshop
Etc
World Building:
Buildings
Culture
History
Historical Clothing
Video
Links